NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (NNN-PTI) – At least nine people were killed and over a dozen others injured, when a vehicle carrying them, hit a tree and overturned, in India’s eastern state of Odisha, police said today.
The accident took place last night, at Kotpad in Koraput district, about 554 km south-west of Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha. All the deceased were reported to be women.
“Last night a pickup vehicle, carrying passengers, skidded off the road, hitting a tree and overturned, killing nine people on the spot and injuring 13 others,” a police official said.
Following the accident, locals alerted the police and helped them in removing the injured from the spot.
“The injured people, with the help of local villagers, were rushed to Kotpad hospital and later they were referred to another hospital,” the police official said.
Police said, all the victims hailed from neighbouring Chhattisgarh state, and had come to Odisha to attend some mourning ritual of a relative.
Police have registered the case and ordered an investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident. Preliminary reports suggest the vehicle was being driven at high speed.
According to federal road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, an average of 415 people die per day, in the country, due to road accidents.
Deadly road accidents are common in India, often caused by overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.– NNN-PTI
